Library to celebrate authors, readers this month

Florida Atlantic University history professor Ronald Feinman asks the question: "What if?" in his latest book, "Assassinations, Threats and the American Presidency: From Andrew Jackson to Barack Obama," which was published last August by Rowman & Littlefield.

As part of National Book Month, Feinman will participate in the author showcase at the Delray Public Library on Sunday, Jan. 10, along with Delray Beach native Sandy Simon, author of "Delray Beach: The Renaissance of a Village by the Sea," and Josette Veltri, a grief counselor from Boca Raton who wrote a self-help book titled "Next Step, New Start."

"The Delray Beach Public Library is pleased to be a part of this annual celebration of writers and readers," said Bonnie Stelzer, director of community relations for the Delray Beach Public Library. "It is a time when we are all encouraged to drop everything and read a good book."

Feinman, who recently appeared on C-SPAN with Brian Lamb to talk about his book and will be a guest on WLRN's Topical Currents in February, is passionate about his subject.

"I cover all the presidents that have faced threats and look at the threats to three presidential candidates, two of whom were killed: Huey Long and Robert F. Kennedy," said Feinman, who also writes a blog titled "The Progressive Professor."

The book took one year to research and another to write and edit.

He enjoys pondering the possibilities of what could have been, if certain assassination attempts succeeded.

For example, Feinman said, "Imagine if the assassination attempt in Miami's Bayfront Park had actually killed Franklin Roosevelt in 1933 when he was President-Elect?"

The bullet missed Roosevelt and killed the then mayor of Chicago, Anton Cermak.

"There would have been no New Deal," Feinman said.

He cites a little-known attempt against John F. Kennedy's life in 1960 in Palm Beach by retired postal worker Richard Paul Pavlick, before his election as President.

"Pavlick had a carful of dynamite and was trying to kill John Kennedy, when he saw Mrs. Kennedy and John-John and changed his mind," Feinman said.

"The whole course of American history would have been different," he said, giving a similar example about Richard Nixon's presidency.

If Bremer had killed Nixon, mostly likely Spiro Agnew would have been sworn in as President and, given his history, been impeached for corruption, Feinman said.

Simon, who saw the city of Delray Beach evolve from a small backwater town to a town that was voted Most Fun Small Town in America in 2013 by Rand McNally and USA Today's second annual Best of the Road Competition, was involved in civic leadership, as vice chairman of Old School Square and served on the board of the Morikami Museum for 19 years.

"It was a grassroots effort that led to the city's revitalization," said Simon, who was part of a group of residents participating in a planning weekend more than a decade ago in Port St. Lucie called Visions 2000.

The book, which he describes as "a combination of chronology and memoir," features large photographs and essays by six guest writers, including former Mayor Doak Campbell and architect Robert Currie.

After being downsized from her job with JP Morgan Chase, Veltri, who had personal experience with grief and losing two husbands, seized the opportunity to write her first book geared for people in transition.

"The book is a complement to the Next Step, New Start program," she said. "It's a reminder that when you are in the moment, write down a word or thought that describes your feelings."

"There is hope for today," she said. "It's a way to mediate on the word and reveal the areas in your life that need to be healed."